Peoples' Friendship University of Russia

Faculty of Agriculture

Department of Morphology, Animal Physiology and Veterinary Expertise

Coursework on the topic

Lifestyle of the mustelid family

The work was carried out by a student of group SV-12

Potapova Anastasia Alexandrovna

Scientific adviser:

Candidate of Agricultural Sciences Rystsova E. O.

Head department:

Professor, Doctor of Veterinary Sciences Nikitchenko V.E.

Moscow 2006

2.Introduction……………………………………………………...….3

3.Main features of morphology…………………………………..4

4. Phylogeny………………………...……………………………...8

5. Systematics……………………………………………………..9

6.Habitat………………………………………………………………31

7. Nutrition………………………………………………………38

8. Reproduction……………………………………………………45

9.Cunya in fine arts………………………….50

10. Some interesting features of the behavior of mustelids......51

11. Seasonal lifestyle features……………………….53

12. Intraspecific relations………………...................................55

13. Interspecies relations……………………………………..55

14. Role in biogeocenosis…………………………………………..60

15. Role in household human activity………………………...…61

16.Security……………………………………………………………...………..62

17. Conclusion…………………………………………………….63

18. List of used literature……...…………………64

Introduction

The mustelidae family (Mustelidae) is undoubtedly of great interest for study and observation.

In the order of carnivores (Carnivora), the mustelid family has the greatest diversity of species (about 65-70). A wide variety life forms(terrestrial, semi-arboreal, semi-burrowing, semi-aquatic) provides this group of predators with dominance in the biocenoses of all landscape-geographical zones.

Being pronounced and specialized predators, they are also of great interest in the study of one of the central problems of ecology - the relationship between predator and prey, and provide abundant material for the development of evolutionary problems.

Mustelids inhabit all continents except Antarctica and Australia (however, some species have recently been acclimatized here by humans). In Russia, Western Siberia is richest in mustelids, which has long been a supplier of fur from these beautiful animals, because representatives of Mustelidae are also known as the most valuable fur-bearing animals in the world. Sable, marten, and mink are in unlimited demand both on the Russian and global markets. The achievements of breeders and the current level of research on genetics allow us to hope for further promising development of fur farming in Russia.

The research of species of the family is devoted to the scientific works of many famous scientists, invaluable in their informativeness and relevance, such as D. V. Ternovsky and Yu. G. Ternovskaya (who devoted their lives to breeding and observation of martens, as well as to the conservation and re-acclimatization of rare and endangered species), In E. Sidorovich, A. N. Segal, P. B. Yurgenson.

In this work I aim to give a modern summary of knowledge on Mustelidae, based on scientific and periodical sources.

Main features of mustelid morphology

The Mustelidae family unites predators with different specializations and dissimilar life forms (terrestrial, semi-burrowing, semi-arboreal, semi-aquatic).

As adults, males are usually larger than females. However, in natural populations there are females that are larger than some males. Cases of the appearance of small males in specialized myophages are especially frequent in years when cubs are born during depressions in the number of rodents, characterized by a meager food supply. At the same time, the appearance of large females coincides with years of abundant food. In individual broods, with a similar feeding regime, the cubs (siblings) that reach adulthood have clear sexual dimorphism in weight and size. This has been confirmed by experiments on feeding young weasels, stoats, and ferrets on different feed rations. But in all the species we studied, except Furo, at birth and in the early stages of postnatal development, no significant differences in these characteristics were found between males and females.

The body shape of most marten species is close to elongated cylindrical; the body is very flexible. The otter's body resembles a wedge, and the minks occupy a middle position between the otter and terrestrial mustelids. In the latter, the neck is narrower than the head and the expansion in the lumbar region is less pronounced.

Marten body shape:

1 - otter, 2 - American mink, 3 - European mink, 4 - badger, 5 - wolverine, 6 - sable, 7 - kolinok, 8 - solongoi, 9 - ermine, 10- weasel (based on photographs from carcasses)

Representatives of the family are distinguished by the beauty, silkiness, variety and value of their fur. Hair is one of the most important organs of thermoregulation in mammals; it reduces the loss of internal heat of the animal at low environmental temperatures. Plays a certain role in maintaining moisture in the internal tissues of the body and protects against mechanical damage.

The thickness of the hair is an adaptive feature; the tightly closed awn of the mink and otter prevents the penetration of water into the thickness of the down layer. The hair is poorly wetted, it gets mostly wet top part awn. Coming out of the water, the animal shakes itself off and carefully wipes its wet fur on the grass, moss or stones, crawling on its stomach and back, and in winter it wipes itself on the snow, sometimes rolling down a gently sloping bank or hillock and leaving behind furrows (grooves). Minks and otters also leave furrows in the snow during transitions, sliding on their bellies on the ice or descending from steep passages to the water. Drying hair is essential, especially in severe frosts, when animals after spearfishing, having previously dried, enter the nest. Observations in captivity have established that wild American minks do not fit into nests until their fur is dry. By vigorously wiping the hair dry after a long swim, the animal stops further cooling its body. The data obtained suggest that the adaptation of flogging to an amphibiotic lifestyle is relative. One should not at all think that in cold water the mink can remain there for a long time. The cooling effect of water also affects the mink, which tolerates being in cold water only better than the ermine, light-colored ferret and, probably, other terrestrial martenes.

Ferrets, leopards, kolonki, solongoi, and badgers are characterized by a distinctive coloring of the muzzle (mask), which makes these animals less noticeable when they look out of shelters or burrows. In some stoats, such a mask appears temporarily at certain stages of ontogenesis and very rarely persists for life. Its absence in adult stoats is apparently a secondary phenomenon. Many species have spots and stripes of various sizes, configurations and colors. Hair pigments play an important role in the life of the animal, providing protective or repellent coloring.

1. Mask characteristic of a young stoat (45-day-old calf)

2. a rare case of a mask preserved for life (atavism) in the same ermine.

The limbs of martens are five-fingered. The first finger is the shortest, and the third and fourth are the longest. The exception is the sea otter, in which the fifth toe reaches its maximum length on its hind leg.

In the process of evolution, animals have developed adaptations to movement, escape from enemies, and orientation to obtaining food during the snowy period of the year. However, within the family there is significant interspecific variability in limb length. Of the species studied, the longest-legged one will be the wolverine, and the short-legged one will be the bandage.

When moving on soft snow, the relative length of the palm and mortar (% of the total body length) is also important. The maximum data for these two indicators are observed in wolverine - 17 to 21%, respectively, then in sable, pine and stone martens, approximately on average 13 and 19%. The rest are arranged in this order: Siberian mink and European mink - 12 and 16 %; light ferret - 12 and 14; ermine, solongoi and otter - II and 16; American mink and badger - 11 and 15; black ferret and furo - Ni 14; itatsi - 10 and 15%. At the end of the row there is a weasel whose relative length of the palm is 10 and the foot is 13%. It should be noted that in these parameters the difference between males and females is insignificant and does not exceed 1%.

Adaptation to snow cover is manifested in the furring of the soles, which contributes to thermal insulation and increases the supporting surface. This trait is most strongly expressed in the weasel, solongoi, weasel and ermine. On the hind legs of the stone marten, on the large plantar pulp (pulvinar metatarsale), there are four tubercles formed by numerous horny outgrowths - plates. In total they take approximately 32 % area of ​​the plantar crumb. Apparently, this is a kind of organ that facilitates the movement of the animal on a slippery substrate. In sable and pine marten, the horny outgrowths are much less developed and are noticeable only when the summer hair coat is very thin. The badger has similar, but very faintly visible plates. The otter's soles of the feet and palms are almost completely bare; the minks' toes and soles are not covered with hair. In severe frosts, this protects animals climbing out of the water from ice freezing on their soles. Rare pubescence of the soles of the paws is characteristic of the badger - a typical shrew, and in the semi-aquatic light ferret this feature is expressed approximately as in semi-aquatic minks.

All representatives of marten-like animals have connecting membranes between their toes. Particular attention of biologists was attracted by the swimming membranes of the defects as forms intermediate between terrestrial and semi-aquatic predators.

The skin connecting membranes between the fingers in each species are not developed to the same extent and, increasing total area paws, perform a variety of functions. In the otter, they facilitate movement in the water, enhancing rowing movements. It is easier for the sable and wolverine to cover, as if on skis, long distances on freshly fallen soft snow, and the badger and light-colored ferret are helped when shoveling out dug up earth.

Development of membranes in cuneiforms:

1 – otter, 2 – badger, 3 – sable, 4 – light ferret, 5 – American mink, 6 – European mink, 7 – wolverine, 8 – stone marten, 9 – black ferret, 10 – furo, 11 – kolonks, 12 – solongoi, 13 – ermine, 14 – weasel.

(top row – hind limbs, bottom row – front legs)

Only through a comparative analysis was it possible to show that the membranes of the American and European mink are less developed than those of the otter, badger, sable and light polecat, and are closer to such terrestrial predators as wolverine, stone marten, black ferret, weasel, solongoi, ermine, caress, dressing. In minks they do not play such an important role as in the otter when swimming.

The otter, in addition, has a very powerful long wedge-shaped tail, which makes up more than half of its body (on average 54%) and contains 24-26 vertebrae. The tail is a necessary locomotor organ for the rapid movement and maneuvering of this dexterous predator that obtains its main food in bodies of water.

The tail varies from cone-shaped, compressed in the dorsal-ventral direction (otter), with different transitions, to almost cylindrical (stoats, weasels). Its length has high interspecific variability, being in accordance with the number of caudal vertebrae. In terms of relative tail length, the otter is in first place (males on average 51.8 + 2.04, females on average 56.2 ± ± 0.60), followed by martens - stone and forest martens, kolin, solongoi, American and European mink, black ferret, furo, ermine, sable, light ferret, badger. The weasel closes the row - males average 13.2 ± 0.40, females average 14.5 ± 0.50.

The tail makes it easier for animals to maintain balance when running fast, making sharp turns, jumping, and serves as a support when standing on their hind limbs. In semi-aquatic minks and otters, the tail often acts as a rudder. For the pine marten (semi-arboreal form), the tail has great importance during gliding jumps from tree to tree and from tree to ground.

It is very typical for mustelids to stand on their hind legs - “in a column”. They take this pose in case of danger, the appearance of an unknown object, when viewing the surrounding area, or orientation. The only exception is the European mink. Over many years of observation, no one had ever seen her in such a position.

A significant difference in the size of the auricles is characteristic of martens. Large ears are characteristic of sables and martens, which lead a terrestrial and semi-arboreal lifestyle, while in the half-buried badger they are faintly distinguished. The otter's ears are especially small. In her auricle there are concave and convex pocket-shaped thickened folds of skin, which, when diving, tightly close together, preventing water from penetrating into the ear canal. The nostrils have a narrow slit-like shape, in their upper part they are fleshy semicircular

the outgrowths can close together, and in At the bottom there remains a small oval hole, from which bubbles of exhaled air rise to the surface of the water, forming a silvery path indicating the underwater path of the animal. A cautiously emerging otter usually sticks its head out slightly when in danger, with its nostrils, eyes and ears located on the same plane above the water itself. This makes it possible, while remaining barely noticeable, to navigate simultaneously using smell, sight and hearing. In minks, which apparently relatively recently switched to semi-aquatic life, there are no significant differences in the structure of the auricle and nostrils from closely related terrestrial predators.

This family is also characterized by paired preanal glands. They are absent only in the sea otter. The glands secrete a secretion (musk) with a characteristic odor and color for each species. This organ begins to function in early age. The ferret, which is considered the most fetid animal after the skunk, has become widely known. In fact, black ferrets and especially light ferrets secrete musk only in rare cases, with severe irritation and fear, and the smell of their musk is much weaker than that of many other members of the family. But the persistence and sharpness of the odor secreted by the glands, representatives of the family can be roughly arranged in the following order: American mink, weasel, ermine, solongoi, European mink, ferrets - black, furo and light. In sable, marten, wolverine, otter, and badger, the secretion of the anal glands is difficult for humans to detect. It is interesting to note that the furo ferret emits a specific sweetish (“honey”) smell.

Isolating a secret becomes of paramount importance in mating season for individuals of both sexes, facilitating the possibility of contacts and meetings. The opinion that the secretions of glands ensure the marking of individual territory in order to scare away individuals of the same species is anthropomorphic in nature; it contradicts the existing practice of mass catching of predators at feeding points and is not confirmed by the presence of a high concentration and density of these predators in nature, in places that are optimal for their life.

We all know about large predators And big animals. But there are also small predators - animals of the Mustelidae family, they are also called Marten. The animals of the Mustelidae family are very brave, despite their small size.

Below are articles about the diverse representatives of the Mustelidae family. In them you can learn everything about these brave little predators that cleverly adapt and inhabit almost the entire planet.

The ermine is a nimble animal of prey. Description and photo of ermine

The stoat is a predatory animal of the Mustelidae family. A small and very fast animal. An agile hunter who can dance and moves with the speed of the wind. In this article you will find a description and photo of an ermine and learn a lot of unexpected and interesting things about this crafty predator.

The animal badger is an unusual inhabitant of the forest. Description and photo of the common badger

Badger or common badger is carnivorous mammal an animal that is a representative of the Mustelidae family. Animal badger – amazing creature, which combines an unusual appearance, an easy-going character and considerable economic benefits. Below you will find photos and descriptions of badgers and you will be able to learn a lot of interesting and new things about this forest animal.

The animal otter is a brave swimmer. Description and photo of the river otter

The river otter (other names: otter, common otter, otter) is a predatory animal that is a member of the Mustelidae family. The otter is a very interesting animal. The otter is an unsurpassed swimmer and skilled hunter; it is very dexterous and flexible. Below you will find a description and photo river otter, and you can also learn a lot of new and interesting things about this amazing animal.

The mustelid family unites many phylogenetically related species, but very different in adaptive features, body structure and lifestyle.

Most of them are small in size, although there are some medium ones. Their body weight varies from 100 grams to 40 kg, and length from 15 to 150 cm. The body is massive, elongated and very flexible.

The mustelid family, or rather its representatives, is distinguished by developed hair. The coat color is varied. There are plain ones, spotted ones, and striped ones. There are species in which the fur is darker below and lighter above. According to the seasons, such animals change their splendor and density.

Mustelidae family: representatives

This whole family is divided into three subfamilies: martens, skunks, badgers and otters.

Let's start with the first...

Marten subfamily

1. Weasel is the smallest animal with a thin, elongated body. It is found where there are the most rodents.
2. Ermine. It looks like a weasel, but it's bigger. Another one distinguishing feature- black tip of the tail. This fur-bearing animal of the mustelid family reproduces once a year.
3. Solonga. It is larger than an ermine. As a rule, representatives of this species inhabit treeless mountains and plains Central Asia, East and China. Mates in winter and spring. The duration of a female's pregnancy is about 33 days.
4. Columns. A furry animal with a dense body, the length of which reaches 39 centimeters. End of the muzzle white, and a black mask is “put on” near the eyes. The tail is usually brighter than the back.
5. European and These animals live near the reservoir. They dive and swim well. They usually mate in the spring.
6. Ferrets. There are three varieties: steppe, black and blackfoot. There is another species - the African ferret - this is an albino form of the black one. The largest of all is the steppe one.
7. Dressing. A fur-bearing animal that lives in steppes, deserts and semi-deserts.
8. The forest and fur of these animals is very thick and beautiful. The stone one is light, and the forest one is dark brown.
9. Sable. Outwardly, it resembles a marten, only the tail is shorter. This animal is widespread in the territory of the former USSR.
10. Ilka - this animal is larger than previously described species. Weight reaches 8 kg.
11. Kharza -strong beast with an elongated body. Its fur is smooth, rough, and shiny.
12. Taira is an inhabitant of the forests of South, Central America and Southern Mexico.
13. Grisons. There are two types of them: small grison and grison. They live in wooded and open areas.
14. Zorilla lives in Africa
15. The spotted ferret lives in North Africa
16. Wolverine is an animal with a massive body and powerful, wide paws. Weight reaches 19 kg.

The honey badger is an animal classified as a monotypic subfamily.

This is a large animal, whose body length reaches 77 cm. The body is flattened, massive, and short.

The mustelid family is further subdivided into the badger subfamily.

Representatives:

1. Common badger. Distributed in the territory of the former USSR. The body length reaches 90 cm, and the tail - 24 cm.
2. American badger. The body length reaches 74 cm, and the body weight is 10 kg.
3. The pig badger is common in the plains and mountains. Body weight reaches 14 kg, and length - 70 cm.
4. Ferret badger wears common name three unique animals at once. They are grouped into the genus Helictis. They all have thick fur. They live in South Asia.

The mustelid family is further divided into the subfamily stinkweeds.

Representatives:

1. The striped skunk lives from southern Canada to northern Mexico. The body length is no more than 38 cm, and the tail is 44 cm. Weight does not exceed 2.5 kg.
2. The spotted skunk is common in Central America and the United States. The weight of the animal is no more than 1 kg.
3. The Patagonian skunk lives within South America. It reaches 49 cm in length.
4. White-nosed skunk. Almost the entire body is covered with black fur, and the tail, back and end of the muzzle are white on top.

There is also a subfamily of otters, these include: the common otter, as well as the Canadian, feline, Indian and others.

After reading our article, you briefly became acquainted with the amazing family of mustelids.

(Mustelidae)*

* The mustelid family includes 23 modern genera and about 65 species of carnivores, from small (including the smallest representatives of the order) to medium (up to 45 kg). Mustelidae are distributed throughout Eurasia, Africa, North and South America, and with humans they came to Australia and New Zealand. What is common in the appearance of mustelids is a rather elongated body on relatively short legs (although there are exceptions); the skull (its facial part) is shortened compared to that of canines. Among the species of the family there are both true predators and omnivores.

The mustelid family is rich in genera and species. Description common features this family is quite difficult; the general structure of the body, the dental system and the structure of the limbs are more diverse than those of other carnivores. It may be observed, however, that all the members of this family are of medium or small stature; Their body is elongated, their limbs are short, and they have from 4 to 5 fingers. Near the anus there are glands, like those of civets, but they do not secrete fragrant substances, as in these latter, but on the contrary, mustelids are the most terrible stinkers among animals. The skin is usually covered with thick and fine hair, and therefore in this family we find the most expensive fur-bearing animals.
The skeleton of these animals consists of very thin bones. The chest is surrounded by 11 or 12 pairs of ribs, on the spinal column, in addition, there are from 8 to 9 lumbar vertebrae, three sacral and from 12 to 26 caudal. The shoulder blades are very wide, and the collarbones, as a rule, are not developed. Large sharp fangs are noticeable in the dental system. The claws are mostly non-retractable.
Nowadays, mustelids live in all parts of the world, with the exception of Australia, in any climate and at different altitudes, on the plains just as well as on the mountains. Their place of residence is forests, rocky areas, but also flat fields, gardens and even human dwellings. Most of them live on land, but some are aquatic animals; Those living on land are usually excellent climbers and swimmers. Many dig holes or holes in the ground or use holes dug by other animals. Some make lairs in the hollows of trees, nests of squirrels and some birds - in short, animals of this family know how to make homes in any place - from a depression between stones to a skillfully constructed hole, from the underground of a human dwelling to a shelter between branches or roots in a deep forest. Most often, mustelids have permanent lairs, but some wander from place to place in search of food. Some of those living in the north hibernate during the winter, while others remain active throughout the year.
Almost all mustelids are very mobile and dexterous creatures. When walking, they rely on the entire foot, when swimming, they help themselves with their paws and tail, when climbing, they use their limbs very dexterously, despite the fact that their claws are not particularly sharp, and can climb steep tree trunks and keep their balance on thin branches. Their movements are, of course, in accordance with the structure of the body. The higher the legs, the bolder the jumps, the shorter they are, the more gliding the movement becomes, although sometimes very fast, and when swimming it is somewhat reminiscent of the movement of a fish. Of the external senses, smell, hearing and vision are almost equally well developed, however, taste and touch are also quite good. Mental capacity mustelids are quite consistent with well-developed body organs. They are very understanding, smart, cunning, distrustful, cautious, very brave, bloodthirsty and cruel. but they treat their young very tenderly. Some love the company of their own kind, others live alone or in known time in pairs. Many are active both day and night, but most of them, however, belong to nocturnal animals. In densely populated areas, they go for prey only after sunset. They feed mainly on animals, such as small mammals, birds, their eggs, frogs and even insects.
Some eat snails, fish, crayfish and shellfish; others do not even disdain carrion, and if necessary, they also feed on plant matter, and they especially love sweet, juicy fruits. Their bloodthirstiness is unusually great: they kill, if they can, many more animals than they need for food, and some species get drunk on the blood they suck from their victims*.

* Bloodthirstiness, like other human vices, is not characteristic of mustelids or any other predators. Mustelids do not “drunk” themselves with blood or “suck” it, but many of them are such capable hunters that they can kill prey larger than themselves. The animal cannot cope with such a mountain of food at one time, limiting itself to gorging on the most delicious, and the next time it prefers to kill fresh prey.

The cubs, the number of which, as far as is known, varies between two and ten, are born blind, and the mother feeds them with milk for a long time and diligently protects them from enemies, protects them with great courage in case of danger and drags them from one lair to another if the babies are in danger. Cubs caught young can become completely tame and even follow their master like dogs and catch game and fish for him. One species of ferret has been living in captivity for a very long time and is used by people to hunt certain animals.
Due to their predation and bloodthirstiness, many mustelids cause quite significant harm to humans, but in general, the benefit they bring either directly with their skin or through the extermination of harmful animals is much greater than the harm they cause. Unfortunately, only a few recognize the benefits of these animals, and therefore they are destroyed in large quantities, which undoubtedly brings significant harm to people. They deserve human gratitude by exterminating harmful animals, and although they often attack beneficial domestic animals and birds, this almost always happens due to the negligence of the owner, who does not know how to properly protect his chicken coops and dovecotes. In this case, it is strange to complain about predation by a marten or ferret. In the same way, it is unfair to blame the ferret, ermine and weasel for exterminating game in the forest, while forgetting that these small predators destroy harmful rodents. Of course, only those martens that eat fish in rivers and lakes** should be considered harmful. Hunters have some right to complain about the marten and the white-tailed beetle, but the owner of the forest must admit that they also bring some benefit, since they exterminate harmful animals.

* * There are no harmful animals in nature, and an otter does no more harm by eating fish and crayfish than a weasel by killing mice.

I do not want, however, to condemn the hunting of many species of mustelids. Almost all of these animals have very valuable fur, but almost no one eats their meat, except perhaps the Mongolian marten and sable hunters; however, otter meat, according to the rules of the Catholic Church, is considered a Lenten food, and some hunters consider roasted badger delicious. How significant the number of martens are exterminated for their fur can be seen from statistics on the fur trade. According to Number, about 3 million skins of various martens worth up to 20 million marks are imported into Europe annually, not counting those that American and Asian hunters keep for their own use. Many Indian and Mongolian tribes live exclusively on income from hunting fur-bearing animals, among which mustelids, as you know, occupy the first place. Thousands of Europeans also live on income from the fur trade. Many previously unknown vast areas are now visited by hunters only for the sake of obtaining furs.
Pine marten(Maries martes)* is a beautiful and graceful predatory animal, whose body reaches 55 cm in length and tail 30 cm.

* The pine marten inhabits the forests of Europe, including the islands Mediterranean Sea, Caucasus and Western Siberia, Body length 45-58 cm, tail 16-28 cm, weight about a kilogram. The pine marten has a yellow spot on its throat various shapes, for which it is called “zhel/pillow”, as opposed to “white-haired” (stone marten).

The fur is dark brown on the upper side, roan on the muzzle, light red on the forehead and cheeks; the sides and belly are somewhat yellowish, the legs are black-brown, and the tail is dark brown; behind the ears there is a narrow dark stripe along the back of the head. Between the hind limbs there is a light red spot surrounded by a dark border; From this spot sometimes a light red stripe extends all the way to the throat. The throat and lower part of the neck are colored beautifully yellow, similar to color egg yolk, which serves as the main distinguishing feature of this species. The thick, soft and shiny fur consists of a rather long and hard awn and a short, fine undercoat, which is light gray on the front of the body and yellowish on the back and sides. There are four rows of whisker bristles on the upper lip, and in addition there are individual bristles near the inner corner of the eyes, on the chin and on the throat. In winter the color is darker than in summer. The female differs from the male in having a paler color on the back and a less clear spot on the throat. In young animals, the throat and lower part of the neck are lighter in color.
The marten's distribution area extends to all forested areas of the northern hemisphere of the Old World. In Europe we find it in Scandinavia, Russia, England, Germany, France, Hungary, Italy and Spain. In Asia it is found as far as Altai and the sources of the Yenisei. In accordance with this large distribution area, the fur of the marten varies in various countries. The largest martens in Europe live in Sweden, and their fur is twice as thick and longer than that of German martens, and their coloring is grayer. Among German martens there are more yellowish-brown than dark-brown ones; the latter are found in the Tyrol, sometimes their fur is very similar to that of the American sable. Lombard martens are pale brown or yellow-brown in color. Pyrenean martens have a large and thick body, but the fur is also light; in Macedonia and Thessaly they are of medium height, but darker.

Martens live in deciduous and coniferous forests, and the denser, darker and more secluded the forest thicket, the more martens are found there. They live exclusively in trees and climb so well that no predatory mammal can compare with them in this *.

The marten chooses for its lair hollow trees, abandoned nests of wild pigeons, birds of prey and protein; much less likely to hide in rock crevices. She usually remains in her lair all day, and in the evening, often before sunset, she goes after prey and chases all the animals she can defeat. Of the mammals, there are even quite large ones, such as hares and young roe deer, but also small ones, such as mice. Quietly creeps up to them, suddenly rushes and quickly gnaws them to death. Many foresters in Germany have seen it attack young roe deer. Forester Shaal watched as the marten sat on the back of a young roe deer, which screamed pitifully and thereby attracted his attention. Another forester also describes several similar cases. However, attacks on such large animals are an exception; most often it hunts small rodents living in trees - squirrels and dormice, and destroys a large number of these pretty, but useless and even harmful animals. It goes without saying that she does not refuse to attack even more large mammals, if there is a convenient opportunity for this. The hare is grabbed in the lair or when he eats, and water rat we are pursued, as they say, even in the water. Among birds, the marten causes the same devastation as among mammals. All forest birds should consider it their terrible enemy, especially partridges and black grouse. She quietly creeps up to the place where the partridge sleeps, and before she has time to look back, the marten is already rushing at her, gnawing at her skull or biting through the cervical arteries, reveling with pleasure in the flowing blood. She devastates the nests of all birds, finds the nests of wild bees and steals honey from there, also eats fruits, for example berries, and if he sneaks into the garden - then ripe pears, cherries and plums. When there is not enough food in the forest, the marten becomes bolder and sometimes even approaches human habitation. It penetrates chicken coops and dovecotes and causes the same devastation there as a ferret or weasel.
Martens come into heat at the end of January or beginning of February. An observer who at this time, on a moonlit night, manages to big forest seeing these predators, you may notice that many martens are frantically running and jumping along the branches of one tree. Snorting and grumbling, males in love run after each other, and if they are equally strong, then hot fights occur over the female, who watches these fights with pleasure and finally gives herself to the strongest*.

* Brehm had erroneous information or mistook some other behavior for sexual activity. It is now known that in the marten the fertilized egg does not develop immediately, but remains in a “preserved” state for some time. Mating in martens occurs in mid-summer, and the embryo begins to develop only in mid-winter. As a result apparent time pregnancy lasts 230-245 days, although in reality the embryo develops much faster. A marten litter usually contains 3-5 cubs, sometimes up to 8.

At the end of March or beginning of April, the female will give birth to three to four cubs, which lie in a nest lined with soft moss, in a hollow tree, less often in the nest of a squirrel or magpie, sometimes between stones. The mother takes care of her offspring with great dedication and, in order to protect them from danger, never strays far from the nest. After just a few weeks, the cubs follow their mother in her wanderings through the trees, deftly and cheerfully jumping on branches and learning, under the supervision of the mother, all the necessary bodily exercises. At the slightest danger, the mother warns the cubs and forces them to hide in the lair. Cubs caught young are fed first with milk and white bread, and then with meat, eggs, honey and fruits.
In our zoological gardens, martens often breed, but usually devour their young immediately after their birth, even if they are given very plentiful food. It happens, as, for example, in Dresden, that marten cubs born in a cage grow up safely, surrounded by the caring attention of their mother.
The marten is hunted very diligently everywhere, not so much in order to destroy a predator harmful to game, but because of its valuable fur. It is easiest to hunt for it in the powder, when traces of the animal are easy to find not only on the ground, but also on the branches of trees. Sometimes you can accidentally stumble upon a marten in the forest, which often lies stretched out on a tree branch. If you notice it in time, you can shoot the marten and even have time to reload the gun if you missed the first time, since it very often remains in place after the shot and boldly looks at the hunter. Apparently, new objects attract the attention of the beast so much that he does not even think about fleeing. A trustworthy person told me. that in his youth he and his comrades killed a marten sitting on a tree by throwing stones at it. The animal carefully watched the flying stones, but did not move until a large stone hit her in the head and she fell from the tree.
When hunting for a marten, you need to take a very angry dog, which boldly grabs and firmly holds the predator, since he bravely rushes at his opponent, and therefore the bad dog is often afraid of him. Martens are quite easily caught in traps, which are placed specifically on it and are well camouflaged; They also catch it in other traps. The bait is usually a piece of bread, which is fried in unsalted butter and honey along with a slice of onion and then sprinkled with camphor. Some hunters prepare other baits from strong-smelling substances.
Marten fur is the most expensive of all furs. obtained from European animals and in its merits comparable only with sable fur. Lomer believes that every year Western Europe About 1,800 thousand marten skins are sold, three quarters of which are obtained in Germany and other countries of central Europe. The finest furs come from Norway, then Scotland, then Italy, Sweden, northern Germany, Switzerland, Bavaria, Turkey and Hungary, the order of these countries indicating the quality of the fur. Marten fur is valued not only for its beauty, but also for its lightness, and twenty years ago in Germany they paid from 15 to 30 marks per skin; now it costs less: 8-12 marks*.

* Although the marten was and continues to be hunted for its fur, it is relatively numerous, especially in Central Russia. Experience artificial breeding Marten control has so far had limited success and has not reached industrial scale.

Stone marten or white marten(Maries foina)**, differs from the pine marten in smaller stature, shorter legs, an elongated head with a short muzzle, smaller ears, shorter fur, lighter coat color and a white patch on the throat.

* * The stone marten is distributed from Central Europe and the Mediterranean to Mongolia and the Himalayas. She looks a lot like pine marten size and proportions (slightly longer-tailed), but less associated with forests, preferring open habitats. Settles on rocks, stone placers and, sometimes, in abandoned stone buildings.

The body length of an adult male is about 70 cm, of which more than a third is the tail. The fur is grayish-brown in color, with a whitish undercoat visible between the awns. The fur on the paws and tail is darker, and the ends of the paws are dark brown. The spot on the throat, which varies quite widely in shape and size, but is always smaller than that of the pine marten, consists of pure white hair, while in juveniles it is sometimes colored reddish-yellow. The edges of the ears are bordered with short white hair.
The pine marten is found in all those countries where the pine marten lives. Its distribution area extends throughout central Europe, Italy, with the exception of Sardinia, England, Sweden, central Russia to the Urals, Crimea and the Caucasus, western Asia, especially Palestine, Syria and Asia Minor. It is also found in Afghanistan and, in addition, in the region of the Himalayan mountains, but there, according to Scully’s testimony, it is not lower than 1600 meters above sea level. In the Alps, the white beetle rises beyond its growing range in summer coniferous trees, but in winter it descends into the valleys. In Holland it seems to have been completely exterminated, at least there it is very rare. It is found almost everywhere in the same place as pine martens, and always comes close to people’s homes; one might even say that villages and towns constitute her favorite abode. She likes to settle in lonely barns, stables, gazebos, destroyed stone walls, heaps of stones and between stacked firewood, in the vicinity of villages, to which she causes significant harm by exterminating poultry. “In the forest,” says Karl Müller, who observed the white-tailed bird in detail, “she most willingly hides in the hollows of trees; in sheds she makes herself a deep hole in hay or straw, most often near the wall. Its passages are formed partly by the fact that it presses to the sides hay and straw, and partly by chewing them. Under the hay and straw, usually in the corner under the beam of a building, the white-haired bird makes a nest for its offspring, which consists of a simple depression and is sometimes lined with feathers, wool or flax, if it can. get it."
In terms of lifestyle and habits, the white-eared marten differs little from the marten. She is just as agile, dexterous and skillful in all kinds of movements, just as brave, cunning and bloodthirsty; she can climb up even smooth tree trunks, makes very large jumps, swims well, deftly sneaks up on prey and often squeezes into the narrowest crevices. In winter, she sleeps all day in her nest unless disturbed; in summer, even during the day, it goes hunting and visits gardens and fields far removed from its lair. “She sneaks around with great mystery, and if she is frightened by something and at first does not know where to hide, then she begins to strangely nod her head, like an old woman, hides her head in some recess, quickly raises it again and becomes defensive. position, showing white teeth. I noticed that in moments of fear, like a fox, she closes her eyes, as if expecting a blow. During her predatory raids, she is just as bold and enterprising as she is cunning and crafty. high dovecotes, using very cunning techniques. The hole into which she can stick her head is enough for her to crawl through it with her whole body. On old roofs she sometimes lifts tiles to get into the chicken coop or into the attic.”

The whitefish eats the same thing as the marten, but it is more harmful than it, since it has more opportunities to exterminate animals, useful to people. She gets into the chicken coop by any means and there, due to her bloodthirstiness, causes great devastation. In addition, she eats mice, rats, rabbits, all kinds of birds, and when she hunts in the forest, she grabs squirrels, reptiles and frogs. She considers eggs a great delicacy and also loves various fruits: cherries, plums, pears, gooseberries, rowan berries and even hemp seeds. They try to protect expensive varieties of fruits from it, and as soon as its presence is noticed, the tree trunk is smeared with a strong tobacco solution or coal tar. Chicken coops and dovecotes must be tightly locked so that she does not get in, and even small holes gnawed by rats must be carefully plugged. It causes harm not only because it kills birds, but also because the chickens and ducks that escaped its persecution are so frightened that they do not want to return to their chicken coop for a long time. Her bloodthirstiness sometimes reaches complete frenzy, and the blood of her victims seems to really intoxicate her. According to Müller, the white bird was sometimes found sleeping in chicken coops and dovecotes, where it killed many birds. However, where possible, she drags away several corpses with her in order to stock up on food for the next days.
Estrus for the stone marten usually begins three weeks later than for the forest marten, mostly at the end of February*.

* In the white-fowl, mating occurs in the summer, and the fertilized egg stops developing for about 200 days. A real pregnancy lasts only a month.

Then, more often than at other times, on some roof you hear the cat’s meowing of these animals, as well as the peculiar grumbling and fight of two males. At this time, the white-fowl emits a stronger musk odor; The smell in the room is almost unbearable. In all likelihood, it serves as bait for other martens. It happens quite often that the pine marten crosses with the pine marten and produces bastards that survive well.
In April or May, the female gives birth to three to five cubs, which she skillfully hides from prying eyes, loves tenderly and later teaches the predatory art well. “The mother,” says Müller, “very diligently shows the children, by her example, different techniques for climbing walls and trees. I had the opportunity to often observe this. In one park there was a stone wall five meters high, which adjoined the barn where the white-haired woman lived with At dusk, the old marten came out of the barn, carefully looked around, and then walked carefully forward along the wall, like a cat; after taking a few steps, she stopped and sat down, turning her face to the barn. After a few seconds, one of the cubs walked along the same one. wall and sat down next to the mother, followed in turn by the second, third and fourth. After a short rest, the old white-haired woman got up and jumped over a fairly large space on the wall in five or six jumps, and then sat down and watched as her cubs got to her in the same way. Suddenly the mother disappeared from the wall, and I heard a barely noticeable noise from her jumping into the garden. The cubs, sitting on the wall, stretched their necks and obviously did not know what to do. Finally, using a nearby poplar tree, they decided to climb down to their mother. As soon as they were all gathered below, the old elderberry marten climbed up the wall again. The cubs followed her without any hesitation, and it was interesting to see how they managed to use a nearby path to climb up the bush onto the wall. Then such running and such bold jumps began that the play of little kittens would seem like child's play in comparison. The students became more dexterous and bolder every minute. They climbed up and down the trees, scoured the wall and roof back and forth, following their mother everywhere, and showed such skill in all their body movements that it became clear how the birds in the garden should be afraid of these predators when they grow up."
In captivity, the white-haired white-haired animal is a very funny animal, as it is distinguished by its mobility and graceful movements; He doesn’t stay still for a single minute, but constantly runs, climbs, and jumps in all directions. The dexterity and speed of movement of this animal is difficult to describe, and when it is healthy and in a good mood, it moves with such speed that one can hardly understand where the head is and where the tail is. However, the male white-tailed whale makes a rather strong bad smell. This smell seems extremely disgusting to many; In addition, the bloodthirstiness of the white-haired woman makes her a rather dangerous animal, and therefore she almost always has to be locked up.
Only an experienced hunter can kill or catch a white cape. Although this animal loves to walk along well-known paths, it is very distrustful and often knows how to outwit even a skilled hunter. The slightest change in the environment of the places where the white-haired woman likes to stay forces her to move away from her usual paths and lairs for several weeks, and sometimes even months. In Germany and central Europe, according to Lomer, up to 250 thousand white cap skins are mined annually. The North of Europe supplies up to 150 thousand skins, and the price of this product reaches 4 million marks. The most beautiful, largest and darkest skins are delivered from Hungary and Turkey, and they are valued much more than German ones. In the seventies of this century, the skin of a white-haired dog was valued at 15 marks, now it costs from 8 to 10 marks. Blanford claims that even more beautiful white-haired skins are brought from Turkestan and Afghanistan*.

* Although stone marten and bred in captivity, this is limited due to the relatively low value of its fur.

Precious is most similar to martens sable(Martes zibellina)**.

* * The sable is approximately the size of a pine marten and differs somewhat from it in body proportions, in particular in its shorter tail. It is distributed in coniferous forests from Scandinavia to Eastern Siberia and Korea. In Japan and South Korea lives a closely related species, the Japanese sable (M. melampus).

It differs from them in its cone-shaped head, large ears, high and rather thick legs, large feet and glossy silky fur. Mützel, who was lucky enough to draw from life this species of marten, so rare in our zoological gardens, says: “The body and limbs of the sable, compared to the same parts of the body of other martens, are thicker and squat. The head has a cone-shaped shape, no matter which side you look at it from.” The top of the cone is formed by the nose; the line running from the nose to the forehead is almost straight and rises quite steeply; this is due to the fact that the very long hair of the forehead and temples stick out and cover the angle that the ears form with the front surface of the head. The hair on the cheeks and lower jaw is also of considerable length and directed back, which gives the sable's head a conical shape, larger and sharper than those of all other species of marten, and therefore the head of this animal has a very distinctive appearance. The limbs differ from those of other martens in length and length. thick, and the feet - in size and width, so that in comparison with the thinner and more delicate feet of other martens, the sable's feet seem like the paws of a bear, and the length of its limbs, together with its squat physique, gives the sable's entire figure a very special appearance."
The fur is considered more beautiful the thicker and softer it is, and especially the more noticeable the smoky-brown color of the undercoat with a bluish tint. Because of this coloring, Siberian fur traders value sable fur***.

* * * Sable fur is the most valuable of the furs of small and medium-sized mustelids. Russian furriers distinguish 11 types of fur color, of which the most valuable is Barguzin with a dark, almost black color and very lush shiny fur, followed by Yakut and Kamchatka in value.

The yellower the undercoat and the sparser the awn, the less valuable the skin; The darker and more uniform in color the awn and undercoat are, the higher the value of the skin. The best sable skins are blackish on the back, black with gray on the muzzle, gray on the cheeks, reddish-chestnut on the neck and sides, and on the underside of the throat a rather bright orange color, similar to the color of an egg yolk; the ears are bordered with grayish-white or light brown hairs. The yellowish color of the throat, sometimes turning orange, according to Radde, fades after the death of the animal the sooner the brighter this place was colored during life. Many sables have noticeably a lot of white hair (gray hair) on their black back, and their muzzle, cheeks, chest and belly are whitish; others have yellowish-brown fur on the back, while the belly, and sometimes the neck and cheeks are white and only the legs are darker; in others, yellowish-brown color predominates everywhere, which turns out to be darker only on the legs and tail; finally, completely white sables are occasionally found.

Sable in former times was found from the Urals to the Bering Sea and from the southern border of Siberia to 68 degrees north latitude; in addition, it is distributed over a large area of ​​​​northwestern America. Currently, its distribution area is limited. Constant persecution drove him into the densest mountain forests of northeast Asia, and since man pursues him even there, even at the risk of his life, he moves further and further to the east and is found less and less often*.

* Sable fishing was widespread, which led to a sharp reduction in its range. At the beginning of the 20th century. The sable's range consisted of several isolated areas scattered throughout Siberia, Far East and Mongolia; V Northern Europe the sable became completely extinct. In the 1920-50s, widespread re-acclimatization of the sable began, several reserves were created for its protection and captive breeding was established. As a result, the number of sable increased noticeably, and it reappeared in some places of its former distribution.

“During the conquest of Kamchatka,” says Steller, “there were so many sables there that the Kamchadals had no difficulty paying yasak in sable skins; the natives then laughed at the Cossacks, who gave them a knife for sable. Each native could get it during the winter without much effort 60-80 or even more sables. At that time, a huge amount of sable skins were exported from this country, and a merchant could easily earn 50 times more than what one official who traveled to Kamchatka spent through barter, especially in food supplies. , returned to Yakutsk a rich man, having earned 30 thousand rubles from trading sables." In it Golden time Several sable hunting societies were formed in Kamchatka, and since then the number of these animals has decreased significantly both there and in other places in eastern Asia. Pursuit by hunters is the main reason for the decline in the number of sables, but the sable wanders from place to place, and, according to the natives, it pursues squirrels, which constitute its favorite prey. During these wanderings, the sable fearlessly swims across wide rivers, even during ice drift, although it usually avoids water. Forests are considered the sable's favorite habitat Siberian cedar, since the giant trunks of these trees provide him with the opportunity to arrange comfortable lairs, and also because many animals live in them, feeding on pine nuts and making good prey for the sable; they say that he even eats these nuts himself*.

* Unlike the pine marten, the sable spends most of its time on the ground and is reluctant to climb trees. Its diet is based on small mammals and birds; it also eats large quantities of various berries and seeds of cedar pine.

“The sable,” says Radde, “despite its insignificant size, is the fastest and hardiest animal in Eastern Siberia, and due to constant persecution by humans, it has also become the most cunning. He, like most other intelligent animals, has a very noticeably developed intelligence due to the fact that that he must constantly be afraid of the hunters pursuing him and therefore has many opportunities to exercise his strength and dexterity of the body, as well as cunning. Thus, in the Baikal Mountains, where the sable hides in the crevices of the rocks, it is much more difficult to hunt for it with dogs than in the mountains. Small Khingan, where he avoids rocky places, and always saves himself in the trees. On Khingan, where he is not yet so persecuted, he hunts not only at night, but even during the day and sleeps only when he is completely satisfied; He is very careful and makes his raids only at night. He most willingly goes for prey early in the morning, before sunrise, and mainly to the heights surrounding the valleys. Its footprint is slightly larger than that of martens, and, in addition, it is not so clear, because long hair grows on the sides of the feet. When he runs, he takes a larger step with his right front paw than the corresponding left one." In its movements, it is most similar to a pine marten and, just like it, climbs and jumps well. Its food consists mainly of squirrels and other rodents , as well as from various birds. He does not neglect fish, at least he goes for bait consisting of fish meat. They say that he loves the honey of wild bees and readily eats pine nuts, and Radde often found these seeds in the stomach of the sables he killed. Sables mate in January, and the female gives birth two months later to three to five cubs)**.

* * Like the marten, mating in the sable occurs in the summer, in June-July, after which the fertilized egg stops developing until the beginning of spring. At the time of Brem, this was not known, which led to certain difficulties during the first attempts to breed sable in captivity.

Siberian hunters claim that the sable sometimes mates with the marten and that from this crossing comes the bastards called "kidus" in Siberia. Kidus has hair like a sable, but there is a yellow spot under the throat and its tail is longer than a sable's. His skin is precious

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Although there is a common tendency for all animals belonging to the same family to have similar traits, the mustelid family is an exception to this. On this moment it consists of twenty-three modern species who live in Eurasia, North and South America, as well as Africa. These are the smallest animals of all carnivores.

General characteristics of mustelids

There are many representatives in the mustelidae family different environments habitats, there are aquatic and semi-aquatic species, terrestrial. Among general characteristics, which animals of this family possess, it should be said about an elongated and flexible body, located on relatively short legs with five toes on each.

The neck is mobile, the head is small. In addition, you need to pay attention to the front part of the skull, which is slightly shortened. Body length is 11 - 150cm, and weight is from 25g to 45kg. It is also necessary to emphasize that the mustelid family is not only representatives of the predatory animal world, they are also omnivorous animals of rather small size.

Everyone has good vision, hearing and smell. They are all agile and dexterous. Some can swim well, some can climb trees.

Representatives of the weasel family

Among the most famous representatives of this family are:

• pine marten;
• badger;
• mink;
• sable;
• otter
• weasel;
• wolverine;
• ermine.

Features of representatives of the mustelid family

First of all, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that the skin of the above-mentioned representatives of the animal world is covered in most cases with thick and thin hair (it is for this reason that they are the most expensive fur-bearing animals). The color is varied - spotted, plain, striped. Fur colors are white, black, brown, red.

As for the dental system and the structure of their limbs, they are quite diverse and there is no common characteristic of them. Mustelids can have from 28 to 38 teeth. Sea otters, for example, have flippers on their hind legs. The claws of mustelids are not retractable.

It should be said about the amazingly impressive skeleton, which consists of extremely thin bones. The spinal column itself has: 11 or 12 pairs of ribs in the chest area; 8 or 9 vertebrae in the lumbar region; 3 sacral vertebrae; from 12 to 26 caudal vertebrae. In most cases, the collarbones in these animals are not sufficiently developed, but the shoulder blades are large.

Mustelidae habitat

Today, representatives of the mustelid family can be found throughout the world, with the exception of Australia: they are not affected in any way different heights and different climatic conditions. In most cases, the animals presented above choose their place of residence in:

• mountains and rocky areas;
• forests and fields;
  
• gardens

Lifestyle. Nutrition

Almost all animals from the mustelid family lead a solitary lifestyle. They prefer twilight or nocturnal activity. Very often, representatives of this family prefer to use holes and holes that they dig themselves or simply occupy those created by other animals.

Some species like to make their homes between stones and branches, in tree hollows. In most cases, they do not hibernate: only some species from the mustelidae family do. Meet at wildlife they are almost impossible. All mustelids are shy and cautious.